This medium purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon opens with black currant and oak bouquet with a hint of black cherry and pipe tobacco. On the palate, this wine is full bodied with medium plus acidity. The mouthfeel is round, balanced, and dense. The flavor profile is a crushed stone and black currant blend with notes black tea, black plum and cedar. We also detected some hints of dried herbs and black cherry towards the end. The finish is dry and its tannins build-up and last for a very long time. This Cab is initially pretty tight and definitely benefits from some aeration. Be sure to decant and swirl this big boy in the near term before serving it with a well-marbled ribeye or braised short ribs.

Delicate, silky, tart and dry with notes of cranberry, raspberry, cherry, red plum, sage, fresh oregano, mushroom and cedar.

Full, lusciously fruity, finely textured and dry with notes of red currant, cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, black licorice and cedar.

Powerfully dense and concentrated in black fruit, with considerable tannin and oak, this full-bodied wine impresses in its underlying hints of floral aromatics and bright acidity. Structured and ageworthy, it should find additional cohesion over time; enjoy best from 2028–2033.

Poached cherry and vanilla-cookie aromas are pleasantly plump on the spicy nose of this bottling. The palate zips with acidity out of the gates before weaving into blackraspberry and fresh herb flavors and finishing with a hint of smoke.

From a selection of vineyard blocks across the producer’s high-elevation estate, this red wine opens in a strong tannin framework and earthy tones of crushed rock and dust. The palate brings additional notes of dried herb, cedar and currant as it evolves, showing plenty of ageworthy structure. Enjoy 2027–2032.

Balances power and elegance, with terrific purity to the spiced plum, juicy black cherry and framboise notes. Delivers polished and refined tannins, with hints of dark chocolate, green tea and fresh sage as well as a whiff of palo santo on the long finish. Drink now through 2040.

Very silky, unctuous, delicate and fresh with lingering notes of lemon zest, flan, ginger wafer, almond biscotti and apple galette.

This inky midnight purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon sourced mainly from the Helena Montana (62%) and the Helena Dakota (23%) vineyards opens with a mild black currant and cocoa bouquet with a hint of black cherry and eucalyptus. On the palate, this wine is full bodied with medium plus acidity. The mouthfeel is balanced, soft and very smooth. The flavor profile is a subtle black currant and dark chocolate blend with notes of graphite and black cherry. I also detected hints of dried herbs, black tea, and gentle boysenberry at the very end. The finish is very dry, and its monster tannins stick around for a very long time. You will need to decant this big boy for quite some time in the near term. I would pair this impressive Cab with Roy's rib roast and friends!

Opaque garnet. Deeply perfumed aromas of red fruit and blue fruit liqueur, mocha and exotic spices, along with a building floral overtone. Shows impressive depth and sharp focus on the palate, offering appealingly sweet, spice-laced black raspberry, cherry cola and candied rose flavors that take on a smoky nuance through the back half. Delivers an appealing blend of power and vivacity and finishes very long and spicy, with well-knit tannins adding discreet grip.

Deep, glistening magenta. Powerful, spice-accented red and blue fruit and floral pastille scents are complemented by vanilla and pungent floral nuances. Rich and seamless in texture, offering sappy blueberry, cherry liqueur and fruitcake flavors that smoothly coat the palate. Finishes impressively long and gently smoky, with dusty tannins building steadily and adding grip to lingering kirsch and floral notes.

Vivid ruby. A complex bouquet evokes ripe dark berries, cherry, incense and mocha, and a smoky topnote builds in the glass. Appealingly sweet, densely packed cherry cola, black raspberry and fruitcake flavors are sharpened by a spicy nuance. Opens up slowly through a long, smooth finish framed by fine-grained, well-knit tannins.

Brilliant ruby-red. Cherry, blackberry, candied rose and hints of licorice, mocha and baking spices on the complex nose. Concentrated red and dark fruit preserve and spicecake flavors show fine definition and a firming spine of juicy acidity. Closes very long and gently chewy, with steadily building tannins and repeating spiciness.

Saturated garnet. Ripe red and bule fruits, candied violet and oak spices on the nose, along with a smoky nuance in the background. Sweet and subtly chewy in texture, offering juicy black raspberry, cherry cola and fruitcake flavors complemented by vanilla and mocha accents. Concentrated yet lively, showing fine clarity on the long, floral-tinged and youthfully tannic finish.

Deep, shimmering garnet. Lively, spice-accented red and dark berry aromas are complemented by suggestions of cola and candied flowers. Supple in texture and alluringly sweet, offering vibrant raspberry, black raspberry and rose pastille flavors enlivened by a building mineral nuance. Shows fine detail and spicy cut on the penetrating finish, which is shaped by smooth, well-judged tannins.

Bright ruby. Spice-accented red and blue fruit and floral scents, along with hints of cola and mocha. Sweet and expansive on the palate, offering juicy black raspberry and boysenberry flavors that show very good depth and appealing sweetness. Closes very long and smooth, with sneaky tannins and repeating floral and cola notes.

Blackberry, fresh rosemary and basil with some hot-stone undertones. Medium-to full-bodied with currants, fresh earth and hints of chocolate. Lovely texture to this. Give it three or four years to come together, but already tight knit and nicely constructed. Try after 2024.

Michael Lane, who renovated the vines at Yangarra, grows this fruit at a 5.7-acre block where the shiraz grows on sand mixed with ironstone. That fruit ferments spontaneously with 25 percent of its whole bunches, then ages in large French oak foudres , allowing the minerality to race along with the black cherry flavors unbridled. Jason Hoy, of Tucker Silk Mill in Easton, PA, compared this wine's elegance to the feel of a St-Joseph. "It has light, savory fruit without being vegetal," he said. David Hawkins, who also grew up in Australia, found it "very McLaren," especially in the balanced sweetness of that fruit. Either way, it's bold and delicious.

This is Peter Fraser's barrel selection of the best grenache from a parcel in Yangarra's Blewitt Springs vineyards, the vines planted in 1946 on three feet of silica sands over clay. He cold-soaks the fruit without its stems, half of it as whole berries, then allows it to ferment spontaneously, bringing out a complex perfume in the concentrated old-vine fruit. Even as the alcohol is apparent—giving the tannins a mouth puckering power—the wine feels cool and rich. The savory intensity takes grenache in a classical direction, with the kind of grandeur more typically found in the Rhône or in the hills above Madrid than in the New World.

93 points, poured core black to a deep purple/red with a thin clear meniscus and hanging stained legs.
Aromas of coffee, currant fruit, lavender, and cedar were lovely.
This full-bodied dry red wine showed still fine grainy tannins, good acidity, and good flavors reflective of the aromas, red cherry, and pomegranate.
Finished long on the fading palate, a hint of citrus, cherry cola, and a well-balanced 14.1% alcohol.
Paired perfectly with my guacamole burger.

Big and powerful, with buttery richness to the ripe pear and Gala apple flavors that are creamy and broad-textured. Shows concentrated spiciness and pastry accents on the textured finish. Drink now through 2026.

A wine with polish and presence, offering expressive cherry and pomegranate flavors, which have traces of black tea and savory spice and finish with medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2030.

Features vivid aromas of black raspberry, fresh violet and black tea, which open to structured and polished flavors that take on tension and complexity toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2030.

Brooding and well-built, offering blueberry and cherry flavors laced with crushed stone and dusky spices, which build tension toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2029.

Hand-picked from the usual assortment of Giant Steps vineyards across the Yarra Valley.
Red fruit, spice, a little pepper, something of a blood orange/Campari character too. It’s slightly sappy, red cherry and spiced strawberry, again that blood orange flavour and some savoury ‘autumnal’ character. Tannin has light emery grip, and the finish is juicy/sweet/sour and slightly bitter, offering solid length. Good drink. Better again with a little more time in bottle.